{"id":828525,"date":"2026-07-27T04:37:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T04:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/828525\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T04:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T04:37:20","slug":"zach-wilson-update-new-dad-starting-over-again-with-4th-nfl-team-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/828525\/","title":{"rendered":"Zach Wilson update: New dad starting over again with 4th NFL team \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five years ago, former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson<\/a> left the relative comfort of his parents\u2019 home in Draper and his apartment in Provo<\/a> for the bright lights of Broadway, and the searing spotlight of the largest media market in the world, New York City.<\/p>\n

Having been selected with the No. 2 pick of the 2021 NFL draft by the lowly and ever-struggling New York Jets<\/a>, Wilson had \u201csort of an idea\u201d of what he was getting himself into, but the reality of the situation wouldn\u2019t really hit him until months, or even years, later.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest fear going there was that I didn\u2019t want to be another Sam Darnold, Geno Smith story,\u201d he said Wednesday in one of his few public interviews since leaving the Jets after the 2023 season. \u201cUnfortunately, that\u2019s exactly what happened. It was a brutal three years, but looking back, there was a lot of good life experiences that I take from it that I feel like made me a better person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I could still go back, I would love to change the whole thing. I would love to be where I feel like I am right now,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Zach Wilson on his NFL journey<\/p>\n

Wilson recently appeared at a ticketed event at Overtime Cards in Sandy in which customers paid $25 to have him sign an unlimited amount of sports memorabilia from his days with BYU, New York, Denver and Miami. Fans got pictures taken with the hometown hero<\/a>, and Wilson took some time to chat with the Deseret News about a variety of topics. Mostly, he provided an update on his NFL career as he enters his sixth season in the league \u2014 with his fourth different team, the New Orleans Saints.<\/p>\n

In March, after spending the 2024 season with the Broncos and the 2025 season with the Dolphins, Wilson signed a $1.4 million, one-year deal with the Saints<\/a>. Nearly $600K is guaranteed, and an additional $187,500 signing bonus came with the agreement, according to several published reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love New Orleans. I mean, it\u2019s still early on, but so far, it\u2019s probably been one of my absolute favorite places I\u2019ve been,\u201d he said, noting that second-year Saints head coach Kellen Moore is a \u201cbig reason\u201d why he picked that route. \u201cBetween there and being in Denver, they have very similar styles of offense, and it just fits my style of play so well. And I really love Kellen. I think he does an awesome job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, left, takes a break with quarterback Spencer Rattler, center, and quarterback Zach Wilson, right, during the practice in Metairie, La., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. | AP Photo\/Matthew Hinton <\/p>\n

Wilson said he had a few other options after his one-year contract (valued at $6 million) with the Dolphins expired in February, but he kept going back to the coach and system that would help him reach his potential the most, and that was Moore and the Saints.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to be there working with him, and it\u2019s been exactly what I expected,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cI really have enjoyed being there, and the team in general. Their other quarterbacks are great, and I\u2019m really enjoying just playing ball again right now. That\u2019s all I can ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore and Wilson are both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, although Wilson has repeatedly said he hasn\u2019t been an active churchgoer since his youth and doesn\u2019t want to be considered a \u201cposter boy\u201d for the church like former BYU quarterbacks Taysom Hill<\/a> and Jaren Hall<\/a> have been portrayed.<\/p>\n

Hill was with the Saints for nine seasons, but the team did not offer the veteran utility player a new contract after the season and he is now an unrestricted free agent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked a little bit a while ago,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cI am not sure what Taysom\u2019s plan is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surprise delivery makes Wilson a first-time father<\/p>\n

Remarkably, Wilson, who turns 27 early next month, fulfilled the commitment to event organizers on July 22 even though his wife of just more than a year, dress designer and social media influencer Nicolette Dellanno<\/a>, earlier that day had given birth to a baby girl who was due on Sept. 4.<\/p>\n

They have named their daughter Francesca Belle Wilson and will call her Frankie, Wilson said proudly before rushing back to the hospital in Provo to be with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife wasn\u2019t feeling well yesterday, so we went to just get a little checkup, and then she was progressing and the doctors were like, \u2018the baby is ready to come now,\u2019\u201d Wilson said. \u201cBaby girl, 33 weeks, born right across the street from BYU. Honestly, it was a good birth, my wife wasn\u2019t sick or anything, and was comfortable. We\u2019re extremely grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sudden arrival means a sudden change of plans for the Wilsons, who have been living in Mapleton in a new home that Zach\u2019s brother, Josh, built \u201cas kind of a spec home thing\u201d that may or may not become Zach\u2019s permanent home once his playing days are over. <\/p>\n

The plan was to fly to New Orleans on Monday and have Wilson begin training camp with the Saints on Wednesday, then have Nicolette deliver the baby in New Orleans in September. At least they already have their housing situation settled in New Orleans, as Wilson participated in Organized Team Activities (OTAs) from April 15 to June 18 and got everything ready in the Big Easy.<\/p>\n

Will Zach Wilson make the Saints\u2019 roster?<\/p>\n

Wilson joins a quarterback room in New Orleans that features undisputed starter Tyler Shough, who was 5-4 as a starter last year with 2,384 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. Former Oklahoma and South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler returns as a backup after losing the starting job to Shough midway through last season.<\/p>\n

Most reports indicate that Wilson and Rattler will compete for the QB2 designation. Former Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who played for the UFL\u2019s Houston Gamblers this past spring, is also on the training camp roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have some guaranteed money, obviously, but not as much as I probably had last year in Miami,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cMy guarantees are not enough to make them care if they cut me. So I still got to earn a spot and all that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson turns 27 on Aug. 3 and says he\u2019s in the best shape of his life<\/a> and ready to throw his heart and soul into earning playing time with the Saints.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel great. I haven\u2019t played a lot in a few years, since all the New York stuff, obviously, but I feel great,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m happy. I\u2019m loving football again. I got to learn from all those experiences and things, and I\u2019ve really enjoyed all of the places that I\u2019ve been. I made a lot of great friends last year in Miami, and it was a good place to be, but I\u2019m loving New Orleans so far. I am just happy with what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MiamiMiami Dolphins quarterback Zach Wilson (0) takes the field before a game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. | AP \u2018At peace with myself \u2026 and the things that have happened\u2019<\/p>\n

Wilson insists that he still has a lot to give to professional football, and could flourish if given the right opportunity in the right place.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mindset has maybe shifted,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m still hungry to play and I want to get the opportunity to be on the field, but I also think if, for whatever reason, my career ended tomorrow, I\u2019m at peace with myself as far as my career and the things that have happened, the experiences I\u2019ve had.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I hope I get to keep playing and everything, but I just feel like mentally I\u2019m in a good spot. I have nothing to lose. I can leave it all out there, enjoy it every single day, take out the business aspect of it and just love being on the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen (retirement from football) comes calling for me and I\u2019m done one day, I can be grateful for the opportunities and not be upset about it at all,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s demeanor changes slightly when his time with the Jets is brought up. It is obvious that he wishes he was drafted by a team other than the perennial losers from the Big Apple.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I could still go back, I would love to change the whole thing. I would love to be where I feel like I am right now,\u201d he said. \u201cI got thrown into that situation as a kid, and we weren\u2019t very good, and unfortunately, we had just lost our quarterback coach going into that season as well. He was the one guy with experience on that staff at the time.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson walks the sidelines during game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. | AP <\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back, I\u2019m like, \u2018Dang, I wish I could just kind of feel like what I\u2019m feeling now,\u2019\u201d he continued. \u201cI know more about the game and all of that stuff. But there were some good things that came out of it. A lot of those coaches, I still love and have good relationships with and I think are great coaches. It was hard on them, too. I wasn\u2019t ready to be on the field, but it makes you tougher, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zach Wilson\u2019s post-football plans<\/p>\n

While he isn\u2019t sure he will live in the Mapleton home his brother built, or sell it, Wilson does know that he would like to live in that area of Utah County when his playing days are over. He and Nicolette will also buy a home in New Jersey<\/a> because that\u2019s where she grew up and where her parents still live.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe likes Utah a lot, but it is a lot different than the East Coast,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cShe misses her family, like anybody would. \u2026 I think we will be out here in Utah most of the time. We will see. Happy wife, happy life. She may drag me out of here. Who knows?\u201d<\/p>\n

He also wants to stay involved with BYU as much as possible, although the word \u201ccoaching\u201d doesn\u2019t cross his lips. Since his time in Miami ended, he\u2019s mostly been in Utah and working out and training on an almost daily basis at BYU, where obviously he is welcomed with open arms \u2014 even if he helped steer his four-star QB brother to the rival University of Utah<\/a> three years ago.<\/p>\n

Isaac Wilson is transferring to Colorado<\/a>, when many believed he would follow his former Corner Canyon coach<\/a>, Eric Kjar, to Weber State. <\/p>\n

The Deseret News will have Zach\u2019s thoughts on that and a variety of other topics in a future article.<\/p>\n

Nearly a half-dozen times in a 20-minute interview, Wilson expressed his love for BYU.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is great to be in Utah County and around BYU football again,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s been good for us this summer. We haven\u2019t traveled as much as we normally do. We\u2019ve gotten to just settle down with my wife being pregnant and just go to the facility and see everyone again. We love BYU sports in general and everything they are doing over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Zach Wilson (1) celebrates as the team exits the stadium as BYU defeats Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. BYU won 29-26 in double overtime. | Scott G Winterton <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five years ago, former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson left the relative comfort of his parents\u2019 home in Draper…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,3166,514,82],"class_list":["post-828525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news-feed-local","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}